Abington businessman headed to state prison for kidnapping plot

COURTHOUSE — An Abington businessman is headed to state prison after admitting he attempted to hire someone to kidnap and harm a suspected rival for his wife’s affection and two of the rival’s friends.

Paul R. Vangore, 48, of the 1400 block of Pepper Road, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to two-to-four years in a state correctional facility after he pleaded guilty to three felony counts of criminal solicitation to commit kidnapping with the intent to cause bodily injury or to terrorize another and one felony count of criminal use of a communication facility in connection with incidents that occurred in November 2011.

Judge Joseph A. Smyth also ordered Vangore to complete three years’ probation after he’s paroled, meaning he will be under court supervision for seven years. Vangore, who reportedly owned Subway restaurants in the region, will receive credit for the time he’s been in jail since November 2011.

Essentially, Vangore admitted that he asked others, a cooperating source and an undercover detective, to kidnap and harm three individuals and that he used his cell phone in order to accomplish that.

Assistant District Attorney Matthew Quigg argued for a lengthy state prison sentence of at least four to eight years against Vangore, citing the “seriousness” of the crimes.

“He asked another man to kidnap three individuals, one of whom he believed was having an affair with his wife, with the intent of harming them. Not only did he want to harm them, but before they were harmed he wanted to see them,” Quigg alleged. “It wasn’t enough that they were just kidnapped and harmed by this hired individual, but he wanted to actually see them in order to get that satisfaction.”

“It’s truly chilling to have that type of conduct and somebody engaging in that,” Quigg added.

Other charges of solicitation to commit murder were dismissed against Vangore in exchange for the plea.

Defense lawyer Brian J. McMonagle, who previously argued that Vangore never intended to kill anybody, sought leniency on behalf of Vangore, apparently hoping for a time served or county jail sentence.

Prosecutors originally alleged Vangore hatched a plot between August and November of 2011 to kill or to harm who he suspected was his wife’s lover and two of the man’s friends. The three targets of the plot were former employees of Vangore, who reportedly is a native of India, according to authorities.

The investigation began after an unidentified individual reported to Philadelphia police that he had been solicited by Vangore to commit the crime, according to arrest documents. Philadelphia police turned the information over to Abington authorities who investigated the claims with county detectives.

Detectives subsequently interviewed the confidential source, who told authorities that Vangore initially approached him about the alleged plot during the summer months.

Vangore allegedly showed the confidential source photos of the three men and provided information about the men’s habits and patterns, court papers indicate.

Detectives subsequently recorded phone conversations Vangore had with the informant, during which Vangore allegedly stated he wanted the informant, or confidential source, to kidnap the three male acquaintances of Vangore’s wife.

The confidential source told Vangore that he would be unable to carry out the kidnapping on his own and implied he would need an acquaintance of his to assist in the plot, according to the arrest affidavit.

The culmination of the investigation came Nov. 30 when Vangore arranged a meeting with the confidential source at a restaurant on Ogontz Avenue in Cheltenham, according to court papers. At that time, an undercover county detective posed as the acquaintance for hire and Vangore allegedly agreed to pay $7,500 to carry out the plot.